Adjudication Query - Cloudkill


Rules Questions

Scarab Sages

I had a recent game where the bad guy used a cloudkill on the party in an area difficult to leave (keeping it spoiler free).

A character near the center of the spell after the center point moved its first 10 feet, casts emergency force sphere.

So what should I have had done with that? I ruled that the cloud wasn't an coming out from the center point so he did not trap the cloud kill in his space but as the cloudkill moves on, does it open up a line of empty space in the spell behind his force bubble.

And if it happens again - say with a resilient sphere, how would you handle that?

Also on cloudkill, when it has no place to move - what happens? Say the caster of the spell was higher than the party so moving away puts the center point into the floor? Or in a small room, does the center point move to the wall and stop, or does it rebound?

(oh - and do you roll a 1d4 for each person, or everyone gets the same 1d4)

TIA

Shadow Lodge

Resilient Sphere

Emergency Force Sphere

Cloudkill

Its a little hard to understand what you are meaning. Did you character move 10ft and then cast the spell, or did the character not move, but the Cloudkill spell did, as it moves 10ft away from it's starting point each round?

Either way, it looks like the character was still within the cloud when they cast the spell. Cloudkill is a Conjuration Creation spell, which means it literally creates the thing (in this case magic poison gas) and then the magic is gone, though the effect remains, (unlike a summoning spell where the magic persists as long as the creature is summoned, and when the magic ends, the creature returns home). Cloudkill does not radiate from a starting point outwards, if fills an area.

So I would rule that they basically just trapped themselves inside with the poison gas, and is taking 1d4 Con each round. Unfortunately, now the gas inside can not move, and because EFS is 1 Round/level and both RS and Ck both are 1 min/level, (and you said the other caster is higher level), the Cloudkill poison will actually outlast the suicide trap they just made for themselves. Luckily, both are Dismissible.

Now, if the caster where able to cast it before the gas got to them, I'd would rule that they are fine, assuming the gas will be gone once their spell is. If the gas is trapped as well, like for instance they are all in a room and the doors get closed and locked on them, well, they at least managed to postpone it.

As for the rolling, I like to just roll once, but you can do it either way. I have seen some people have everyone affected roll for themselves, (putting their characters fate in their own hands), and I've seen people just have someone (if not themselves) roll once and everyone takes that. I find that the first one, (DM just rolls once and that's what everyone gets) is both the fastest and most fair. Downside is that if you roll high, it tends to be the most brutal. For this poison for instance, if everyone rolls individually for 1d4 Con, and lets say 5 players, some might walk away with no issue or a -1 to Con checks and HP/Level. If everyone is taking 4 though, everyone is hurting and you might have just depleted your healer (and still not helped everyone). Just pick one and roll with it consistently. :)

Shadow Lodge

One other thing I should point out. IF that is how you are going to rule it, give the players a hint before they actually do it. It is something that the characters would be able to see and figure out, and since they are smart enough to be casting 4th level spells and experienced enough to have survived that long, they would probably know if that sort of thing would or would not work, or at least how likely it might. So if it is a death trap, they would probably know, and you should probably suggest to the player another option.

:)

Scarab Sages

DM Beckett wrote:

One other thing I should point out. IF that is how you are going to rule it, give the players a hint before they actually do it. It is something that the characters would be able to see and figure out, and since they are smart enough to be casting 4th level spells and experienced enough to have survived that long, they would probably know if that sort of thing would or would not work, or at least how likely it might. So if it is a death trap, they would probably know, and you should probably suggest to the player another option.

:)

The person in question had a way to avoid the cloudkill damage -

When a the edge of a cloudkill reaches a solid object (like a wall) in the direction that the cloudkill is moving, does the spell area stop? Or does the center keep moving in that direction (thus making the area smaller)?

And when the center point of the cloudkill reaches a solid object (like a wall or wall of force) does it stop, or does it keep moving - (eventually reducing the area to zero)

The force sphere "captures" part of the cloudkill within it - it is part of it that does not move.

So when that part cannot move, does the square it would have moved into become clear (since the conjuration does not radiate but is) - and eventually becomes a clear line for the rest of the duration of the spell, or since the piece cannot move, the whole cloudkill cannot move?


If there isn't space for the cloud to move, it doesn't move. It doesn't just fade out or disappear into a wall.


Pure opinion coming up, but I would give a 5 foot length of reprieve behind any object that obstructs the fog which then returns to normal. Getting into wide objects or 3d terrain, it would become almost a backwards cone effect of unaffected area. I'd atleast give a cover bonus to the save (equal to what would be given to a reflex save) to show less fog density.

But like I said, that is all made up just what I would do.

I'm going to try to do one of those text examples

C=cloud
W=wall
E=empty space

CCCCW
CWWWW
CCEEW
CCCEW
CCCCW

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